A floor mat suitable for a vehicle is shown in FIG. 1 includes a circuit (1) for operating remotely controllable devices (20) both inside a vehicle or outside a vehicle. In another embodiment, a floor mat is equipped with a transponder that will respond to interrogation systems such as those commonly used at two booths on highways, bridges and tunnels. In another embodiment, a GPS receiver is incorporated into the floor mat along with a transmitter that will transmit the location of the motor vehicle to a remote tracking station.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A floor mat for controlling a remotely controllable device comprising: a mat portion, the mat portion being sized and shaped to fit a driver side floor portion of an automobile, the driver side floor portion having a three dimensional shape, the mat portion including at least one indentation corresponding to the driver side floor portion; a switch adjacent to the mat portion, the switch being positioned in the mat portion and configured to be operable by a user's foot; a control unit connected to a first terminal of the switch, the control unit being configured to sense operation of the switch by the user's foot and generate a control signal for controlling the remotely controllable device in response thereto; a transmitter connected to the control unit and configured to transmit the control signal generated by the control unit to a remotely controllable device; and a battery connected to supply power to the transmitter.
2. The floor mat of claim 1 , further comprising an antenna connected to the transmitter.
3. The floor mat of claim 1 , wherein the battery is connected to a second terminal of the switch.
4. The floor mat of claim 1 , wherein the battery is an automobile battery.
5. The floor mat of claim 1 , wherein a second terminal of the switch is connected to an electrical system of a vehicle in which the mat is located.
6. The floor mat of claim 1 , wherein the signal contains a code.
7. The floor mat of claim 6 , wherein the code corresponds to a garage door opener.
8. The floor mat of claim 6 , wherein the code corresponds to a power module that controls a supply of power to a remotely located device.
9. The floor mat of claim 1 , wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit the signal to a remotely controllable device located outside of a vehicle in which the floor mat is installed.
10. The floor mat of claim 1 , wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit the signal to a remotely controllable device located inside of a vehicle in which the floor mat is installed.
11. The floor mat of claim 10 , wherein the transmitter is a bluetooth transmitter.
12. The floor mat of claim 1 , wherein the transmitter and control unit form part of a single integrated circuit on a single chip.
13. The floor mat of claim 1 , wherein the transmitter and control unit form separate integrated circuits on separate chips.
14. The floor mat of claim 1 , wherein the transmitter and control unit form separate integrated circuits present on a single segmented chip.
15. An automobile comprising: an automobile body, the automobile body including a driver side floor portion having a three dimensional shape; and a floor mat, the floor mat including: a mat portion being sized and shaped to fit the driver side floor portion of the automobile body, the mat portion including at least one indentation corresponding to the driver side floor portion; a switch adjacent to the mat portion, the switch being positioned in the mat portion and configured to be operable by a user's foot; a control unit connected to a first terminal of the switch, the control unit being configured to sense operation of the switch by the user's foot and generate a control signal for controlling the remotely controllable device in response thereto; a transmitter connected to the control unit and configured to transmit the control signal generated by the control unit to a remotely controllable device; and a battery connected to supply power to the transmitter.
16. The automobile of claim 15 , further comprising an antenna connected to the transmitter.
17. the automobile of claim 15 , wherein the battery is connected to a second terminal of the switch.
18. The automobile of claim 15 , wherein the battery is an automobile battery.
19. The automobile of claim 15 , wherein the battery supplies power to the transmitter through the control unit.
20. The automobile of claim 15 , wherein a second terminal of the switch is connected to an electrical system of the automobile.
21. The automobile of claim 15 , wherein the signal contains a code.
22. The automobile of claim 21 , wherein the code corresponds to a garage door opener.
23. The automobile of claim 21 , wherein the code corresponds to a power module that controls a supply of power to a remotely located device.
24. The automobile of claim 15 , wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit the signal to a remotely controllable device located outside of the automobile.
25. The automobile of claim 15 , wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit the signal to a remotely controllable device located inside of the automobile.
26. The automobile of claim 25 , wherein the transmitter is a bluetooth transmitter.
27. The automobile of claim 15 , wherein the transmitter and control unit form part of a single integrated circuit on a single chip.
28. The automobile of claim 15 , wherein the transmitter and control unit form separate integrated circuits on separate chips.
29. The automobile of claim 15 , wherein the transmitter and control unit form separate integrated circuits present on a single segmented chip.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
August 2, 2004
October 14, 2008
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